Risky Deal in Northern China
Grapevine was commissioned by a client to assess the level of risk associated with purchasing a Chinese fugitive’s corporate assets in northern China. Among the various issues associated with the deal, the client’s primary concerns revolve around the loss of major contracts as well as the possibility of the fugitive’s company being implicated in anti-corruption investigations.
Our preliminary research revealed a rumor that the fugitive’s major client in China, one of the three dominating state-owned oil enterprises, may permanently cut business ties with the fugitive’s company , due to the bribery and corruption rumors linked.
Along with conducting extensive open source information gathering, Grapevine consulted with local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, as well as sources close to the fugitive’s “backers” who were retired politicians.
Based on our findings, we concluded that the risks related to purchasing the assets were minimal as we determined that the authorities do not have any intention of implicating the company in the fugitive’s ordeal.
